Crossakiel, in County Meath, is often considered a part of nearby Kells (Irish: Ceanannas). Kells, is famously known for being the namesake of the illuminated manuscript, The Book of Kells. Though it’s unknown exactly when Crossakiel was established, Kells has been a town since as early as the 12th century. During English invasion in the Middle Ages, Kells was a border town on the English Pale, and later during the Irish Potato Famine around the 1840s, it lost almost 40% of its population.

The Cosy Corner (pictured above) in Crossakiel used to be a pub and a grocery, but is now closed. The Crossakiel Handball Club can also be seen above. Handball is very popular in Crossakiel and has been since as early as the 1920s. The church pictured above is St Shiria’s Church, which was part of the Church of Ireland and is recorded as far back as 1761. The church is no longer in use, as it no longer has a roof or door.

The population of Crossakiel today is unknown, but the town of Kells has a population of nearly 6,000 residents. Kells is known today in media for being the setting of the Oscar-nominated film, The Secret of Kells.

Georgetown was established in 1859, during the Pike’s Peak Gold Rush. It is named after one of the founders, George Griffith. Though it never found much gold, it made good amounts of money off of silver, which caused large population growth. By 1893, Georgetown had more than 10,000 residents. After this, the town began to lose its population as silver deposits dwindled. Georgetown has been used as a filming location for many movies, and as of today, it has around 1,000 residents.

The Kayville Credit Union building near mainstreet. It appears to be being used for something today

The St Peter and Paul Church (Neo-Transylvanian Gothic, a simplified version of it); even today, it still holds service every Sunday

Kayville was named after Billie McKay and was founded in 1905 by Romanian immigrants who built Kayville around the mainstreet with homesteads in the outskirts. The St Peter and Paul Church (pictured above) was built by the Romanian townspeople and is an Orthodox church that is over 100 years old today. Its layout is shaped like a boat to represent Noah’s ark. Mainstreet was very busy and had over 30 businesses, all of which had been abandoned by 2009, though recently a few have reopened. The population of Kayville today is 9 people.

Bateman was founded in 1908 when settled by Jim Bateman and his family. By the 1920s, Bateman had a population of 300. The last resident left in 2000 and many buildings were demolished. The United Church (pictured) is still sometimes used for funerals and weddings.

Bateman from an aerial view, 1950s. Bateman’s United Church can be seen next to the large white and grey barn, next to a small street lane. Next to it is the house pictured.